Karen Bird Ngale / Bush Medicine Dreaming (KBN19)

Born in 1984 Karen Bird Ngale is the youngest daughter of prominent Utopian artist and senior elder for Ilkawerne country, Lindsay Bird Mpetyane. She is the younger sister to fellow Utopian artists Rosie and Jessie Bird and resides at Akaye Soakage in the Utopia Region of Central Australia.

Karen was taught the stories, songs and dances associated with ceremonies by the senior Utopian women and grew up watching her father paint, learning his techniques. She is without a doubt one of the shining lights of the younger generation of Aboriginal artists.

Her paintings are stories associated with Awelye (women’s ceremonies) and bush tucker, in particular Alpar (rat tail bush medicine plant).

Karen paints the bush tucker found in abundance in her country, the Utopia region of the Northern Territory. The most prominant is Alpar which is the Anmatyerre word for the Rat-Tail Goosefoot plant. This is a small herb that is sticky to touch and is citrus scented. It produces small clustered flowers that form long spikes, resembling that of a rat tail, as well as small black shiny seeds which are very high in protein. Other bush tucker includes atnyerlenge (native fuchsia) which has sweet honey found in its flowers and the Desert Yam (or Bush Plum) which can be eaten raw or cooked and is still a staple food for the desert aborigines where it can be harvested at any time of the year. It is also renowned for its medicinal properties. This medicine is used to heal cuts, wounds, bites, rashes and as an insect repellent.